Phonograph control unit



Nov. 8, 1960 F. e. NICKL 2,959,418

PHONOGRAPH CONTROL UNIT Filed Sept. 8, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i 3 INVENTOR,

BY A 6%;

United States Patent Oflice 2,959,418 Patented Nov. 8, 1960 PHONOGRAPH CONTROL UNIT Franklyn G. Nickl, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Automatic Music, Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 8, 1958, Set. No. 759,784

3 Claims. (Cl. 274-) The present invention relates to automatic coin-operated phonographs of the type often referred to as juke boxes wherein the machines are customarily installed for operation by the patrons of restaurants, taverns or other public places upon insertion of a coin in a suitable coin control mechanism.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a phonograph control system so designed as to attract the attention and stimulate the interest of persons in the vicinity of the machine, and to thus increase their activity in inserting coins for further playing of selections of their own choosing.

The present invention proposes to stimulate the interest of the patrons of a given establishment in the phonograph mechanism by an arrangement whereby the phonograph will not be permitted to stand for an extended period of idleness, but will be subject to automatic self-actuation and will be caused to play an occasional record even though no coin is deposited in the coin control and no selection made by a patron. It is, however, another important object of the invention to avoid excessive repetition of the same selection or group of selections.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic control system of the general character indicated above, yet of such design and construction that the operator of the machine may limit the automatic free plays thereof to a certain restricted or specified group of records within the magazine. By this expedient, the automatic play may be limited to selections of the choosing of the machine operator, and will not necessarily include all of the selections available to the patrons by coin operation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a selfcontained unit capable of attachment to an existing type of automatic phonograph for accomplishing the primary aims indicated above, in a manner which is entirely compatible with the coin control devices and selector mechanisms now commonly in use on equipment of this type. By accomplishment of this object, the present invention may be put into practice in connection with existing machines as well as in connection with new devices, and machines originally marketed without this feature may be converted to the operation the present invention contem plates if desired.

The above objects are accomplished in the preferred embodiment of the present invention by a motor-driven unit including an interval timer, a starting switch for the phonograph with which the unit is to be associated, and appropriate electrical contactors whereby the unit generates coded pulse trains of the character necessary to actuate the selection mechanism of the phonograph to which it is to be attached. The unit also includes means responsive to functioning of the phonograph in the normal manner, as by insertion of a coin, to cause the automatic control mechanism to be ineffective during all periods when the phonograph is being more or less regularly operated by its patrons.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings of this specification, wherein Figure l is a plan view of an automatic phonograph control unit constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, with a portion of the housing of the unit broken away to more clearly illustrate the mechanism therein;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the unit shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail transverse sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 33 of Figures 1 and 2, and illustrating the interval timer and starting switch of the mechanism; and

Figure 4 is a schematic wiring diagram illustrating a preferred example of electrical circuitry such as employed in the present invention.

In the preferred form of the invention illustrated, the entire automatic control mechanism is housed within a sheet metal cabinet consisting of a back panel 10, top panel 11, and end panel 12, with mounting flanges 13 and 14 along the edges of the back and top panel, respectively, and with a timer supporting flange 15 depending from one end of the top panel 11.

The device utilizes a timer motor 16 which may be a conventional synchronous alternating current clock motor with internal gearing whereby the rotation of the internal armature of the motor is geared down to drive an output shaft 17 in the manner Well understood in the art. The motor 16 is mounted on a shiftable adjusting plate 18 pivoted on the upper surface of the top panel 11 by a screw 19 and adapted to be secured by a screw 21 extending through a slot 22 so that the angular position of the mounting plate 18 may be adjusted within a fairly wide range, as determined by the length of the slot 22. The top plate 11 is cut away at 23 (Figure 2) so that the reduced speed output shaft 17 of the motor may be moved to various positions of adjustment.

The motor shaft 17 carries a flat horizontal driving disk 24 at its lower end to drive the timing disk 25 of the timing unit generally designated by the numeral 26. As shown, the disk has a resilient rubber friction facing 27.

The timing unit 26 includes a pivoted frame 28 of somewhat channel-like cross section and including a front flange 31, rear flange 32, interconnected by a bottom web 33 cut away at 34 (Figure 3) for purposes that 'will be later described. The frame 28 of the timing unit is mounted for pivotal movement on a fixed stud 35 carried in the timer mounting plate 36 secured to the aforementioned timer mounting flange 15 by screws 37 and formclockwise direction as viewed' in Figure 3 of the draw ings. The motion of the disk is limited, however, by a stop pin 41, which projects rearwardly from the disk 25 and rests against the upper edge surface of the rear flange 32 (Figure 2) to limit counter-clockwise movement of the disk.

The timing disk 25 also carries a switch-actuating pin 43 projecting inwardly from its front surface to a point just short of the front flange 31 but in a position to engage and operate a toggle switch 44 mounted on the bracket 45 secured to the end plate 36 by screws 46. In operation, the switch 44 operates a relay 55 for starting the phonograph mechanism, as will appear more fully hereinafter.

A pair of electro magnets 47 are mounted on a bracket 48 secured to the mounting plate 36 by screws 49 which extend through suitable slots in the end plate so that the magnets may be adjustably positioned and set in an operating position just below the bottom web 33 of the pivoted timer frame 28.

A coiled extension spring 51 extends upwardly from the rear flange 32 of the timer frame to a lug 52 extending from the inner surface of the mounting plate 36. By this arrangement, the pivoted timer frame 28 is normally urged upwardly with a resilient force sufiicient to hold the rim of the timing disk 26 in frictional engagement with the yieldable friction facing 27 of the driving disk 24. It follows that rotation of the driving disk 24 by its motor 16 will cause the timing disk 25 to rotate at a slow and gradual rate, beginning at a starting position in which the pin 41 is resting against the upper edge surface of the flange 32 of the timer frame 28, and continuing in clockwise direction (Figure 3) to a terminal position in which the switch-actuating pin 43 strikes and closes the toggle switch 44. The relative speed of the timing disk depends upon the distance of the point of contact between the disk flange 24 and disk 25 from the center of shaft 17. This may be varied by adjustment of plate 18 along slot 22. Progress of the timing disk from its starting position to its terminal position may be interrupted at any time, however, by energizing the electro magnets 47, since whenever these magnets are energized they draw the entire timing frame 28 downwardly against the light tension of spring 51, releasing the edge of the timing disk 25 from frictional engagement with the facing of the driving disk 24 and allowing the hairspring 39 to snap the timing disk back to its starting position shown.

The motor driven pulse train generators of the unit are powered by a gear reduction motor 61 mounted between a pair of commutator mounting plates 62 and 63 (Figure l) with the motor and commutation assembly secured to the top and end plates of the housing by screws extending through spacers 64. The plate 63 carries a relay 55 having two pairs of normally open contacts 56 and 57 (Figure 4) and one pair of normally closed contacts 58, for purposes later described.

A signal commutator 65 is mounted in spaced relation to the outer commutator mounting plate 63 by paired spacer studs 66 (Figure l), and an auxiliary commutator 67 is mounted on and spaced from the inner commutator plate 62 by studs 68. The motor 61 operates through a speed reducing gear train 72 to drive a slow speed output shaft 71. The output shaft 71 extends through the signal commutator 65 and carries a rotatable brush arm having three interconnected leaf spring contacts 73 to engage and energize the various contacts on the face of the commutator 65. The auxiliary commutator 67 is also provided with a four-contact spring brush 74 carried on a countershaft 75 geared to the motor output shaft 71 by a gear 76 meshing with a pinion 77.

With reference now to the diagrammatic illustration of Figure 4, it will be seen that the signal commutator, generally designated as 65, includes a continuous central slip ring 78 surrounded by a segmental contact plate 79 having a continuous brush track around about threequarters of its marginal edge but cut away at 81, with a shorter segmental contact 82 mounted in the cutaway portion. An exterior circular brush track of the commutator disk 65 also includes a series of letter-pulse generating contacts 83, 83A, 83B, 83C and 83D, the last four of which are connected, respectively, to the commutator segments 84A, 84B, 84C, and 84D on the face of the auxiliary commutator 67. The outer brush track of commutator 65 also includes four number-pulse generating contacts N-l, N-2, N-3 and N4. Of these, the contact N-l is connected to the contacts 83 and 83A and to the auxiliary commutator segment 84A. Contacts N-2, N-3 and N-4 are connected, respectively, to the commutator segments S2, S3 and S-4 of auxiliary commutator 67.

The brush 73 of the signal commutator 65 includes an inside wiper spring bearing against the slip ring 78, with an intermediate wiper spring following a track around the outer edge of the segmental contact plate 79 and across the cut-away 81 and the contact 82, and an outside wiper spring arranged to scan both the letter-pulse generating contacts 83 to 83D and the number-pulse contacts N-l to N-4 inclusive in succession.

The brush 74 of the auxiliary commutator 67 includes four wiper springs interconnected with each other and traversing the four concentric tracks of the offset arcuate commutator segments 84A, 84B, 84C, 84D, S-2, S-3, and S-4, each of which are of the shape illustrated in Figure 4.

The principles of the present invention are of wide application and the mechanism claimed may be conveniently applied to almost any of the well known types of automatic phonographs, but for purposes of convenience of description the operation of the unit will be described with reference to a well known type of phonographic selection system and record changer, the conventional portions of which are illustrated in block diagram in Figure 4 of the present drawings.

In the type of machine illustrated the record changer, generally designated as 85, consists of a rotary wheellike structure including paired end plates 86 mounted on a rotatable central sleeve 87 driven by a traverse motor 88 through gear 89 and pinion 91, and having a multiplicity of wire bails 92 projecting outwardly from the edges of the end plates to act as spacers between the individual phonograph records 93 contained in the machine. The mechanism includes a record player having a turntable 94 carried on the frame 95 and driven by a motor 96 with a tone arm 97 having automatic control mechanisms of well known type whereby it is caused to engage the record on the turntable. The individual records 93 are transported from the magazine to the turntable by a semi-circular record transfer arm 98 pivoted on a motor driven transfer head 99 in a well known manner.

The record changer may be provided with any conventional record selector and, as shown, this includes a selector wheel 101 with a swinging finger 102 adapted to cngage and set any one of a series of selector pins 103 arranged around its edge. The selecting finger 1.02 may be directly actuated by manual means if desired, but it is ordinarily controlled by a coin actuated selector including coded pushbuttons. These may be either in the cabinet of the phonograph itself or in a remote wall box, but in either case, it is usual to provide a coin slot 105 in a receptacle 106 which includes a coin-actuated switch and slug rejector (not shown) which serve to energize a credit unit 107 by which a credit switch 108 may be maintained closed for a period corresponding to the value of the coins deposited.

The credit switch 108 energizes a pulse transmitter 109 which ordinarily includes one bank of pushbuttons 111 identified by letters of the alphabet, and a second bank of buttons 112 marked with numerals, by manipulation of which the unit is caused to transmit a coded series of pulses to a pulse receiver 113 and scanning unit 114 which co-act to register the selections in the selector mechanism of the record changer, and to start its operation, as by closing a starting switch 115 in the circuit of the traverse motor 88.

In the normal operation of a phonograph utilizing the present invention, the play is initiated by the insertion of a coin in the slot 105 of the coin control, after which the patron makes a selection by depressing one coded push button in each of the groups 111 and 112. These buttons start the pulse transmitter 109 and send a pulse signal of predetermined type to the receiver 113 where it is translated by the circuitry of the receiver to move the selector finger 102 to a specified position and set one of the pins 103 on the selector wheel 101, so that the particular record chosen by the patron will be transferred to the turntable 94 and played. While the exact characteristics of the pulse trains utilized to transmit the selection from the pulse transmitter 109 to the pulse receiver 113 may be varied arbitrarily, yet it is common practice to provide mechanism whereby any pushbutton of the letter group will act to transmit a series of short, regularly spaced pulses; followed by a pause between the letter signal and a number signal consisting of a similar series or short, regularly spaced pulses, serving to identify a pushbutton of the number group. For example, it is common practice to provide a letter signal of two short pulses to indicate the letter A, with three pulses for B, 4 for C, 5 for D, etc., with the second pulse train or number signal corresponding to the number of the pushbutton, and comprising anywhere from 1 to 20 pulses. It follows that by permutation of one of a group of ten letter buttons 111 and twenty number buttons 112 it is possible to transmit any one of two hundred different code signals to the receiver 113.

The pulse receiver 113 responds to an incoming pulse train signal by actuating the scanning unit 114 to close the starting switch 115 and cause the traverse motor 88 to start rotation of the record rack. When the rack is rotated to bring the desired record into alignment with the transfer arm 98, a scanning switch 104 is actuated by the selector pin 103, interrupting the circuit through the motor 88 at the contactor 116, and simultaneously energizing the motor-driven transfer head 99 and turntable motor 96 to play the selected record.

As long as there is a reasonable frequency of play in this manner, the automatic auxiliary control unit forming the novel feature of the present invention will remain inactive, but it has been observed that in public places such as restaurants, bars, bowling alleys or other localities where automatic phonographs are customarily installed, a phonograph may remain idle and unnoticed for extended periods if there is no play at all, yet if the machine is played occasionally by one patron, many others will follow the example and deposit coins for selections of their own choosing. The present invention proposes to make use of this known fact to stimulate the play of the machines and to thus increase the revenue thereof by avoiding extended periods of idleness of the phonograph. To this end, the mechanism isdesigned to automatically play an occasional record in the event that the machine is not operated by patrons in the normal manner.

In Figure 4, it will be apparent that since the timer motor 16 is connected directly across the A.C. supply line 121122, the motor runs continuously Whenever the phonograph is plugged in and in condition for operation.

It follows that the motor 16 will drive the timing disk 25 in such a manner that, unless interrupted, the pin 43 on the disk will close the toggle switch 44 of the auxiliary control unit whenever a predetermined time interval has expired. The closing of the toggle switch 44 completes a circuit from the positive direct current lead 123 through winding of the relay 55 and to the segment 82 of the commutator 65, so that when the brush 73 is in the home position illustrated, the circuit is completed from the segmental contact 82 of the commutator to the central ring 78 thereof and thence back to the negative D.C. (common) supply line 122. The switch 44 thus energizes the relay 55 to start the motor 61 of the auxiliary control unit and initiates operation of the commutators 65 and 67 which coact to transmit a selection pulse to the receiver 113. The closing of the normally open contacts 56 and 57 of relay 55 complete an alternatopposite lead 121 of the A.C. line.

When the motor 61 turns, the brush'73 of the commutator 65 moves in a counterclockwise direction. The

center wiper spring of the brush runs off of the segmental,

contact 82 and engages the segmental plate 79. This opens the relay 55, but only after a homing circuit to the motor 61 is completed between the commutator seg ments 79 and the ring 78. As the relay 55 opens, the circuit to the motor 61 from the A.C. lead 121 is reestablished through the normally closed contacts 58, notwithstanding opening of the contacts 57. The motor 61 will thus continue to operate until the brush 73 makes one complete revolution and again reaches the cut-away 81, breaking the motor circuit at home position.

As the brush 73 rotates, it generates a pulsed letter signal" followed by a pause and a pulsed number signal. The circuits for each of these signals are closed by the outermost wiper spring of the brush 73, which passes successively over the contacts 83D to 83 inclusive in a manner to generate a signal pulse for each of these contacts which is included in the circuit at the time. In continuing its motion, the wiper spring will then pass over an insulated zone 126 between the contacts 83 and N1 to provide the desired pause in the pulse train, followed by a second series of pulses as the brush passes over contacts N1 and N4 inclusive.

The auxiliary commutator 67 is arranged to vary the circuitry between the signal contacts 83" to 83D and N1 to N4 so that ten different coded pulse signals are transmitted in series, without possibility of repetition. It will be seen, for example, that when the brush 74 is in the position shown, the contacts 83B, 83C and 83D will each be dead while the contacts 83, 83A and contacts N1 to N4 inclusive are all connected through the comniutator segments 84A, S2, S3 and S4 to the output signal lead 125. It follows that as the wiper spring of brush 73 passes over the letter signal contacts, it will transmit only two impulses (83 and 83A). These will be followed by a pause as the wiper crosses'the zone 126 and four short number signal pulses as the wiper moves across contacts N1 to N4. It follows that selection A'4 will be made when the brush 74 is in the position shown. The commutator segments 65 and 67 are geared to each other by a three-to-ten ratio, however, so that during the next revolution of the brush 73, the brush 74 will have advanced to the point B1. In this position, the first pulse signal will consist of three pulses (signifying B) while the second signal will be a single pulse (signifying numeral 1). In subsequent revolutions, the brush 74 of the auxiliary commutator 67 will advance successively to the points C2, A3, A1, C1, B3, A2, D1, B2, and transmit corresponding selections tothe receiver, before again reaching the original A4 position.

The signal pulses thus generated by the combined action of the commutators 65 and 67 are transmitted to the pulse receiver 113 of the phonograph through the lead 125, and they control the receiver and scanning unit in exactly the same manner as pulses received from the transmitter 109, so that each pulse transmitted makes its individual selection from the records 93 in the magazine, and each pulsed signal closes the starting switch 115 to initiate operation of the phonograph. Each closing of the switch 115, however, also completes a circuit from the common power supply lead 122 through the switch and through the electromagnetic winding 47 of the auxiliary control unit and back to the positive supply lead 123. Thus each time the operation of the phonograph is initiated, either manually by a patron or by the auxiliary control device, the electromagnets 47 draw the timing frame 28 downwardly to release the timing disc 25 from contact with the driving disc 24 of 7 the motor 16 and to allow its spring to reset it to zero position.

In practice, the speeds of the parts are so set that the time interval of the auxiliary control may be varied from about fifteen minutes to about an hour. Thus in the event that no patron of a given establishment in which the machine is installed plays the phonograph during the designated period, the starting switch will close, energizing the phonograph. At the same time, the operation of the selector commutators 65 and 67 initiate a pulse signal to the receiver, to make a selection diferent than the last. If the machine is being played actively, or evenly occasionally, by the patrons of the establishment, however, this operation will not take place.

From the above it follows that while the present mechanism provides means for initiating the operation of an automatic coin-operated phonograph upon the expiration of a given period of idleness, yet it accomplishes this desirable result by devices which not only prevent tiresome repetition of the same recorded selection but may be arranged, if desired, to limit the selections included in the free play repertoire to a group of records which may be considerably less than the entire group of records available in the magazine. It may thus be seen that the individual operator of the magazine may make his own selection of the records in the magazine which are to be included in the free play category, and these selections may be varied as he may feel desirable, to suit any given location in which the machine may be located.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In an automatic phonograph including a multiple record magazine, a record player, and a coin control mechanism to initiate operation of the phonograph mechanism, with record selection instrumentalities including a bank of manually operable coded push buttons and a pulse train generator responsive to the operation of said push buttons and arranged to generate predetermined coded trains of electrical pulses in response to the actu ation of different push buttons in the bank; and a pulse receiver associated with the magazine of the phonograph and coacting with said generator to receive said trains of pulses and to select a predetermined record from the magazine in accordance with each given pulse train; the combination of an automatic control unit for stimulating interest in the phonograph consisting of an interval timer with means for varying the time interval thereof; means to control operation of the interval timer in response to a function of the phonograph; a starting device for the phonograph actuated by said interval timer, and a record selector adapted to select a record from a designated group comprising less than the entire number of the records in the aforesaid magazine, said selector including a pair of interrelated contactors interconnected with the pulse receiver of the aforesaid phonograph and shiftable with respect to each other to make a selection of one of the aforesaid group of the records contained in the magazine of said phonograph.

2. In an automatic phonograph including a multiple record magazine, a record player, and mechanism to initiate operation of the phonograph mechanism, the combination of an auxiliary control unit including an interval timer having a movable timing element consisting of a rotatable disc mounted in a shiftable frame and movably progressively between a starting position and a terminal position; driving means coupled to said timing element to move it toward said terminal position; means to return said timing element to starting position upon release from said driving means; electromagnetic means to periodically uncouple the timing element of the interval timer from the driving means thereof in response to a function of the phonograph; and a starting device for the phonograph consisting of an electrical switch on said interval timer actuated by said timing element upon reaching the terminal position thereof, to automatically play one of the records contained in the magazine after a period of idleness of said phonograph.

3. In an automatic phonograph including a multiple record magazine, a record player, and a coin control mechanism to initiate operation of the phonograph mechanism, with manually operable record selection instrumentalities to select a predetermined record from the magazine; the combination of an auxiliary control unit for stimulating interest in the phonograph including an interval timer having a movable timing element consisting of a rotatable disc mounted in a shiftable frame and movable progressively between a starting position and a terminal position; driving means consisting of an electric motor coupled to said timing element to move it toward said terminal position; spring means to return said timing element to starting position upon release from said driving means; electromagnetic means to periodically uncouple the timing element of the interval timer from the driving means thereof in response to a function of the phonograph; and a starting device for the phonograph consisting of an electrical switch on said interval timer actuated by said timing element upon reaching the terminal position thereof, to automatically play one of the records contained in the magazine after a period of idleness of said phonograph.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,102,531 Hoke Dec. 14, 1937 2,240,609 Cummings May 6, 1941 2,285,061 Shoemaker June 2, 1942 2,319,945 Osborne et al May 25, 1943 2,627,415 Rasmussen Feb. 3, 1953 2,717,781 Reykjalin Sept. 13, 1955 

